People can't seem to stop talking about how generous the parishioners were this year. The Christmas collection was more than $20,000 more than expected or budgeted. We have never had a $52,000 collection before. This will go a long way to pay off some of those old debts.

Last night was our annual Christmas Concert. The choir and the assembly did a marvelous job. It was a evening of readings and carols. It was a delightful and prayerful evening. My favorite moment was when the choir sang the Victoria "Ave Maria." The Bethlehem reading from Micah was read by a first grader. It was a wonderful Advent evening and after the closing hymn there was a restful silence in the church. It clearly had not been entertainment and applause would have broken the effect. Outside the people were animated, delighted and complimented the choir.

This was a parish that ended every mass with applause. The movement from Nashville to Rome is not complete. There are still some who long for the flesh pots of Egypt. There is still a smattering of applause after Mass on Sunday, but we are doing our best to discourage it. It is difficult work, but I want this to be Sacred Space again.

The last two mornings have been quite festive and I am looking forward to seven more before Christmas. Responding to an inquiry and a request, I permitted the Filipino community to hold their traditional novena of dawn masses before Christmas. In some communities this is known as Misa de Gallo, but more widely as Simbang Gabi. They have more than surpassed my expectations. A Full church, lots of young people, fabulous choir, traditional music in Tagalog...It has been fabulous. Traditionally in the Philippines these Masses cn be held as early as 4:00am. We are having them at 5:00am, with the traditional Filipino breakfast in the Hall afterwards. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, they asked me to sing these masses.

With the Mananitas for our Lady of Guadalupe last week, it means a lot of early mornings this December and lots of afternoon naps too,

I've seen this linked to on a number of Blogs already. I have access to a few more details about the Archbishop's moves into his new apartment, including some pictures, but Fr. Lopes has sworn me to silence. But now that Fr. Steven Lopes has himself in this news article, I plan to do some bragging.

Fr. Lopes was a student of mine when he was in Grade school.

He will be helping out here with the Christmas Masses on his vacation. He is a native of this parish. His Mother sits about 10 rows back on the right every morning for Mass, and she is my part time private secretary.

I cannot believe that it is December already. Most of the spare time in the past few months has been spent poring over numbers, the annual ritual with the budget. This is such a large place, and the budget is over a million. It takes a while to figure it all out and apportion things properly. The final draft is an act of faith. We cut $180,000 in spending for next year. Donations are up, but expenses are way up.

This is a great day to stay indoors. The weather is nasty.

Advent is a beautiful season, my favorite. I can hardly wait to hear the “O” Antiphons again. Conditor Alme Siderum, Rorate Caeli are among my most loved melodies. I especially love the text of the Rorate.

My Advent reading so far has included “The Strangest Way” by Robert Barron and “Redeemer in the Womb” by John Saward.